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One Less Mouth to Feed

#1 moved into her dorm this weekend, and Husband and I returned home to a quieter house. It's a little sad here at the moment, but I'm pretty sure that we'll all ease into our new non-summer way of living. What's more important than our slightly quiet house is that #1 be eager to dive into her new life. It's a big world out there, baby--go get it. Does that sound like something someone would put on a graduation cake or worse yet--a bumper sticker? Yikes. I didn't mean to be trite, or meaningless.

OSU (the O standing for Ohio) is a big place, and its tentacles reach all across the country, mainly because of football. While relaxing in the hotel lounge bar yesterday afternoon, I was admiring the bottle of Grey Goose shimmering in front of the mirror behind the bar, and I couldn't help noticing the shrine to OSU football right above it. Propped up in the corner was a big hardbound copy of The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia. zzzzz--I couldn't think of a single thing I wanted to look up.

Not being one to pay attention to football or any of the paraphernalia that trails along behind it, I have never really thought about what Brutus might be, Brutus being the mascot. One of our lake house neighbors inflates a giant Brutus in the front yard every weekend in honor of a game, and I've always thought the thing was a bear. While we were standing in line waiting for a dorm room key, Brutus himself was working the crowd, high-fiving people down the line. I was a little nervous because I do whatever I can to not high-five anyone--shake my hand, pat me on the back, kiss my cheek, but please--no high-fiving. I couldn't avoid what I thought was a bear because I couldn't stand letting him stand there with his hands raised and me just looking at him blankly. It was with this close-up advantage that I realized that his head was not that of a bear afterall but of a buckeye. Of course. Well, I think it's a buckeye head, or a butthead. Either way, Brutus had BO, another reason never to high-five.

So, I'm off to tidy up the quiet house--to pick up the stray clothes that didn't get packed, to stack the books that didn't make the cut, to make the empty bed--and to miss #1.

Comments

Anonymous said…
sometimes I look foward to when my kids start their college life. It's rather bitter sweet as most parents tell me. I guess it will come soon enough.

Rich/Anonymous or anonymous Rich
2:58 PM
Ms Mac said…
Eeek! I forot to try a buckeye when I was in Ohio. Oh well, just an excuse to return one day.
4:50 AM
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